Index folder



July 15, 1924.

. J. FLRAND INDEX FOLDER Filedmarch 2. 1923 Patented July 15, 1924..

' UNITED STATES v item PATENT oFFIc- JAMES H. BAND, OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK.

lnnnx FOLDER,

Application filed Mac 2, 1923. Serial No. 622,410. I

systems.

In the accompanying drawings which.

illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention-' Fig. 1 is'a front elevation of an empty folder constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the folder of Fig. 1 to larger scale and partly broken away I the lower part of the folder shown in Fig.

1 as it appears when partially filled;

Fig; 4; is an end elevation to larger scale of the parts as shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the folder shown asit appears when filled; and I .Fig. 6 is an end elevation, to larger scale and partly broken away, of the folder as shown in Fig. 5. Folders for use in filing systems areusually made of heavy paper, card board or the like and comprise a rear fold furnished with an index tab or other designating characteristic and a front fold which is of 1 less vertical width than the rear fold so as to exhibit the upper portions of the enclosed papers or documents. When empty. the frontand rear folds are spaced but slightly apart, the fold line being relatively narrow although varying somewhat in width in accordance with the stiffness of the material from which the folder is made, but as the contents-of the folder increase in bulk, the fold line gradually widens out and abstracts more and more of the material normally constituting a part of the front or rear fold or both. It is desirable to have the tabsupporting edge of the folder remain at the same height above the lower edge of the folder under all circumstances so as to keep the tab well above the contents of the folder and where it may readily be distinguished from the tabs of other folders in the file. As ordinarily constructed, however, the rear fold of the folder breaks down to furnish the additional material at the fold line as frequ'ently as does the front fold, so that the tab portion of the folder is gradually lowered until it is lost to view. When a folder contains but few papers of a size. so small that they do not project beyond the edge of the front member of the folder, the latter may, upon casual inspection, appear to be empty and thus valuable information may be overlooked.

In accordance with the present invention, the folder is so constructed that as its contents increase in bulk the additional material necessary at the fold line is all supplied from the front fold so that the height of the tab member remains unchangedthrough out the life of. the folder. The front fold is also furnished with apertures so disposed as to reveal the presence of even the smallest paper or other object within the folder and these apertures serve as additional means forinsuring the widening of the fold line at the expense of the front fold rather than of the rear fold.

In the drawings the folder isillustrated asconiprising a piece of sheet material such, for example, as paper, Bristol board, orrthe like, doubled to provide a fold line at the pointl and having the rear fold 2 and the front fold 3, the latter being of less vertical width than the rear fold. The upper edge of the rear fold may be provided with an upstanding tab 4 of any desired construction or the upper part of such fold may be furnished with any other desirable distinguishing characteristic. The lower part of the front fold 3 adjacent to the fold line l is provided with. one 'or more lines of weakness indicated by the numerals 5, 6, 7 8, respectively, extending substantially parallel to the normal fold line 1. These lines of Weakness are preferably spaced equally apartand'may be formed in any desired manner such as-by stamping, embossing or printing, and serve to determine auxiliary fold lines as will be hereinafter described.

In Fig. 2 the folder is shown substantially as it appears empty, in which case the front and rear folds are slightly spaced, or may be substantially in contact. The folder as thus arranged is capable of receiving a small number of documents without substantially changing the position of the fold line 1 or bulging the front and rear folds perceptibly. As the number of documents increases they tend to spread the folder at the fold line and as the front wall is more flexible adjacent to the fold line than the rear wall, the spreading or bulging will take place at the expanse of the material of the front wall only.

In Fig. 4 a mass of documents 10 is shown as disposed between the front and rear folds of the folder and the front wall is shown as having become bent along the lines 5, 6, thus providing a fold line of greaterwidth than normal so that the documents are accommodated within the folder without bulging the walls of the latter and without changing the height of the upper edge of the rear wall 2 of the folder relative to the position of the normal fold line 1. In Fig. 8 the folder is shown as containing the maximum intended quantity of documents 10, the front wall 3 having broken down successively along the lines 5, 6, 7 and 8 so that the fold line has developed into a substantially fiat surface between the points 1 and 8. The front and rear walls, however, remain substantially parallel to each other and the tab 4; remains at the original height above the normal fold line 1. During this expanding of the fold, the upper edge 11 of the front wall gradually descends, but this is relatively unimportant as it does not affect the indicating characteristic by which the folder is designated.

The front wall 3 of the folder is provided with a series of openings 9, preferably vertically elongate, and extending in spaced relation throughout the region in which the lines of weakness are formed. These openings serve as windows through which rela tively small documents such as 12, l3-within the folder are rendered visible as indicated at 14c, 15 respectively. Not only do these apertures serve to expose the contents of the folder to view, but they also increase the flexibility of the lower portion of the front wall of the folder so as to insure the bendthe type of distinguishing characteristic which maybe employed, nor in its broader aspects upon the specific means by which the front fold is weakened or rendered more flexible adjacent to the normal fold line.

What I claim and desire to secure by Let ters Patent of the United States is:

l. A folder for use in filing systems comprising a piece of sheet material doubled to provide a normal fold line defining. front and rear folds, the front fold being weakened adjacent to the normal fold line by the provision of apertures therein.

2. A folder for use in filing systems comprising a piece of sheet material doubled to provide a normal fold line defining front and rear folds, the front fold being furnished with a plurality of apertures arranged in a series extending substantially parallel to the normal fold line and adjacent thereto.

3. A folder for use in filing systems coniprising a piece of sheet material doubled to provide a normal fold line defining front and rear folds, the front fold being weakened adjacent to the normal fold line by the provision of a series of perforations, each perforation being elongate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the normal fold line.

4. A folder for use in filing systems comprising a piece of sheet material doubled to provide a normal fold line defining front and rear folds, the front fold having spaced parallel lines of weakness extending along and adjacent to the normal fold line, said front fold being further weakened by the provision of apertures therein, each aperture extending across one or more of said lines of weakness.

5; A folder for use iii-filing systems comprising a piece of sheet material doubled to form a normal fold line defining front and rear folds, the latter having a designating characteristic at its upper edge, the front fold having a plurality of spaced parallel lines of weakness extending along and adjacent to the normal fold line, and a series of apertures in the front fold also extending parallel to the fold line and in the region of said lines of weakness.

Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this 23rd day of February 1923.

JAMES H. RAND. 

